Nominations for the 2017 John Rive Memorial Award are now open.John was a great sportsman and so it is fitting that the criteria for such an award should be similar to John's qualities - supportiveness, respect for everyone (for players and umpires alike), enjoyment of the game, honesty, assisting all players whether experienced players or new players.He never had a bad word to say about anyone on or off the field, he may have thought it but never voiced it. He was always smiling, he always accepted the umpire's calls whether he agreed or not although no one ever knew either way, he kept it to himself as he just loved the game of softball. He was also very modest and got slightly embarrassed when anyone praised him for his play. John was just such a nice person through and through and he is still greatly missed as being one not only a great softballer but mainly one of the nicest people to set foot on the softball diamond.To nominate a member of the JSA for the Award please follow the link below to complete the form, stating the reasons why you are nominating that person.

This August will see Jersey’s first, all-female softball team compete in Slough in a women’s slow-pitch softball tournament.

The team, known as the Crystal Knights, has been kindly sponsored by Jersey firm, Crystal Public Relations, which has funded the kit for the team and has eased the financial cost for each player.

The tournament, known as “Let the Girls Play” is the only all-female two-day tournament in the UK, besides the National Championships, and will see teams compete at the Farnham Park Sports Ground in Slough on the first weekend of August.

The ladies will compete in at least eight games over the two-day tournament and will test themselves as a team for the first time against some high calibre players from across the UK.​

Lindsay Satchell, Vice President, Jersey Softball Association, commented on the tournament:“We’re all very excited to be going away as an all-female team this year and compete at a level different to one we’re used to here in Jersey. All the Crystal Knights’ ladies play on different co-ed summer league teams and therefore having this opportunity to play together on an all-female team is very exciting and will offer a very different and welcome dynamic for everyone.”

“I’d also like to extend my gratitude to our corporate sponsors, Crystal Public Relations, as they generously offered to cover the cost of our kit. Travelling off island to compete always has a sometimes-prohibitive cost to it, so it’s excellent to have a sponsor that is willing to ease that financial burden in some way.”

Mike Sunier, Managing Director, Crystal Public Relations commented:“Since a member of the agency team is a part of the newly formed softball team, we were pleased to be able to make a contribution through sponsorship as they embark on their first competitive tournament in the UK.”

﻿Registration for the JSA 2017 Corefocus Summer & Corporate Leagues is now open with teams of all levels and abilities welcome.

The season commences in May with Summer League games played on Sunday afternoons and Corporate League games played on weekday evenings. If you would like to find out more about entering a team or joining an existing one then please get in touch by completing this form.​See you on the diamond!

Registration for the 2017 Corporate League is officially OPEN!This is always an exceptionally popular league and spaces are issued on a first come first serve basis. So if you're one of the lucky ones that enjoys the company of your coworkers OUTSIDE the office, then send us an email to corporate@jerseysoftball.com to pick up a free information pack!

​Although the 2016 Corefocus Summer League has come to an end for many in Jersey, 4 teams are now eagerly looking to the coming weekend for the grand finale of the softball season as they take on their Guernsey rivals in an annual inter-island show-down that has dominated the calendar since 2001.

This year’s Uptons, hosted by the Jersey Softball Association, will take place on Saturday 10th September, with Jersey’s division two winners, Corefocus Cubs, taking on Guernsey’s Drunken Duck Rangers B for the first game at 9.45am at Les Quennevais Sports Centre.Later that same morning, the division one winners from both islands will meet at 11.30am, with the dms Jersey Flyers looking to take on their Guernsey counterparts, NE Electrics Rookies. After storming the Jersey Softball Associations Corefocus Summer League as undefeated champions, the Flyers are eager to finish their season with another victory.

In the afternoon, the highly anticipated Island matches will take place, with the B-teams for each island going head-to-head at 1.45pm, followed by the A-teams at 3.45pm. The Jersey island squad has been training extremely hard all summer with their coaches Ricardo Sousa, Carlos Teles and Chris Le Lion, and all hopes are pinned on this being a golden year, with both teams successfully taking back the titles from Guernsey.

Speaking about the Island Squads chances this weekend, the Jersey Softball Associations Head Island Coach, Ricardo Sousa, said “We know these will be very tough games against strong opposition but we do have a two strong and capable teams with a good mix of players with previous Muratti experience and also players taking part in these games for the very first time. Training has intensified and brought the best out of the squad and I’m confident that the teams are ready for the challenge ahead and will represent Jersey well.”

The Jersey Softball Association (JSA) has launched the Corefocus Summer League, with eight teams split across two divisions, all competing for a home run to the JSA Hall of Fame.

This year, the ‘CPA Global Pirates’, ‘Jacksons Falcons’, ‘JSA Niners’ and ‘dms Jersey Flyers’ will be competing in division one, while the ‘Corefocus Cubs’, ‘Trinity Tyres Phoenix’, ‘MotorMall Eagles’ and ‘JSA Dev Team’ will battle it out in division two.

The Corefocus Summer League will take place at Les Quennevais Sports Centre and will run until the end of September. This season's format will follow that of previous seasons, with each team playing both divisional games (teams play each other three times) and inter-divisional games (teams play opposite division teams once).First founded in 1993, the Jersey Softball Association has been organising softball games in the Island for the last twenty years. The aim of softball is to score more runs that the other team by batting a ball into play and running around the bases, touching each one in succession. Softball is also one of the few sports with teams made up of both men and women playing as equals.Matt van Sanden, Managing Director, Corefocus, says:‘It’s been our pleasure to support the Jersey Softball Association for the past nine years. They provide a great service to the local sporting community and softball is such a great inclusive team building sport and just about anyone can take part. It’s so great to see so many people getting involved this year and we can’t wait to see the Corefocus Cubs show off their skills!’ Lauren Glynn, President of Jersey Softball Association, says:‘We have all been eagerly awaiting this year’s Corefocus Summer League and looking forward to another season of fun, yet competitive, slow-pitch co-ed softball and also, hopefully, a good dose of sunshine!Sponsorship is critical to the ongoing development of Jersey softball and we are very appreciative to Corefocus for its ongoing sponsorship and support of our Summer League and the JSA as a whole. They have allowed us to grow year on year and invite new teams to the league. No pre-fitness is required and it’s a great way to meet people. We have even seen a few couples who have met at softball and later got married. We would like to invite anyone who wishes to try their hand at the sport to get in touch.’Contact: president@softball.comFurther information can be found at www.jerseysoftball.com​​

​Two sides made up of local (and special guest) players took part in the Bristol DD cup this weekend under the guise of ‘Thundercats’ and ‘Eagles’. This regular tournament is a favourite for the local Bird of Prey sides (Falcons, Phoenix & Eagles) and always helps get their season off to a good start.

On a tough first day Thundercats advanced to the Cup competition with two wins and a draw whereas the Eagles had a rough time of it with four losses to make the plate competition.

On day two both teams were rejuvenated (possibly by the local apple-based refreshment) with Thundercats going 3-1 and Eagles going an unbeaten 4-0 to make both of their respective finals however dreams of a Jersey double were not to be with both sides finishing as runner-up.

An excellent weekend from Eagle Leah Cunningham earned her the Tournament MVP Award.Team MVPs for Thundercats were Sam Lempriere & Chaz Cunningham and for Eagles were Nick Henley & Caitlyn Hennessy who was playing competitively for the first time!

Congratulations to Steve Le Monnier, Ric Sousa, James Marshall, Barry Chandler, Darren Hodges and Rem Floris who all completed a two day umpire training course held at Les Quennevais this weekend. The course, run by BASU Training Officer Chris Moon, covered the rules of the game as well as practical umpiring skills and was followed by a written and practical assessment.

The JSA requires each team to fulfil umpiring assignments across the season and provides regular training to its members to facilitate this. The knowledge gained through training also helps the attendees develop and improve their own playing game as they come to better understand the rules of Slowpitch Softball.

Let's be sure to give a warm welcome to all new umpires when you see them on the diamond!